4 Razors

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

  • Title: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
  • Wikipedia: link

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth entry and, if we believe the author, the next to last book in the Harry Potter series.  So how does it rank?  Well I have enjoyed the series for the most part, but was disappointed with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which seemed hastily written to appease the publishers and fans rather than craft a good story.  After reading this installment however I was once again happily transported back into the world of witches and wizards, goblins and house-elves, and a wonderful school for magic.  The book recaptures the magic and mystery as we are thrust once more into the world of Harry Potter.

All of our old friends are back, but the world that we return to isn’t quite as cheery as the one we left.  Lord Voldemort has organized his Death Eaters and begun to attack and kill off any obstacles to his return to power.  The newspapers are full of new casualties every day, and a cloud of fear seems to surround everything.

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It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp

  • Title: Hustle & Flow
  • IMDb: link

Can a you root for a pimp?  The answer Hustle & Flow gives is a resounding yes.  Djay isn’t a bad man, just one who is stuck in a life he never really wanted and wishes to live out his lifelong dreams.  Well, that’s a pretty universal story I think most people will be able to relate to.

Djay (Terrence Howard) is a middle-aged pimp who treats his hookers better than some parents treat their children.  Djay’s main source of income is Nola (Taryn Manning) the skinny young ghetto white girl who he pimps out of his car.  Also part of his family are hookers Shrug (Taraji P. Henson) who is pregnant and the loudmouthed Lexus (Paula Jai Parker).  Djay waxes nostalgic daily about life and dreams about becoming a rap star.

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We Crash Into Each Other

  • Title: Crash
  • IMDb: link

crash-posterIntertwining tales of violence and bubbling racial tensions crash into each other as residents of L.A. deal with issues of hate, bigotry, and racism that present themselves sometimes subtly and sometimes not-so-subtly throughout the course of the film.  Crash tries to show how many people live their lives with certain ideas and notions that they might not even be aware of until they are forced to confront them.  Many people won’t like the film for it’s bleak look at the human condition, but in examining this small group of people the film works for me as it shows how easily ill-will and prejudice can be passed on from one person to the next through angry or hateful exchanges.

There is a cop (Don Cheadle) who is sleeping with his partner (Jennifer Esposito) and dealing with a drug addict mother and a younger brother (Larenz Tate) who likes to carjack white folks with his friend (Ludacris).  The car they choose one night belongs to the District Attorney (Brendan Fraiser) whose wife (Sandra Bullock) is tramatized by the incident and takes it out on her husband and the Hispanic (Michael Pena) locksmith they hire to change the locks who she takes for a gangbanger and has an Iranian customer (Shaun Toub) who thinks he is ripping him off and then when his shop gets robbed he takes the gun his daughter (Bahar Soomekh) bought him and searches for revenge.  Then there’s the racist cop (Matt Dylan) who can’t get his father the health care he needs and takes it out on a young black couple he pulls over (Terrence Howard and Thandie Newton) to the disgust of his partner (Ryan Phillipe).

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